A World Full of Grimm
by StoryTome
Summary: Waking up in another world after dying was a surprise. Finding out I recognized the world was another. But realizing I had the opportunity to change this world for the better, well that was the best surprise of all. Semi-SI. Semi-AU.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is my first attempt at writing since highschool and I'm honestly not sure of how it went. Constructive criticism is welcomed and please don't hesitate to let me know if you have any tips to help me get better. Without further ado here is my first story: A World Full of Grimm.**

* * *

Handcuffs are uncomfortable. I suspected the police officer who put them on me did them up a bit too tight on purpose but it wasn't just that, everything about them made them uncomfortable. The thin metal edge digging into my wrist, the awkward position I had to hold my arms at, the angle I had to lean at to sit properly. Yep, all in all being handcuffed was not a fun experience, but I suppose it wasn't meant to be. Of course, if I stopped focusing on the discomfort of being handcuffed I probably wouldn't notice it so much, but then there would be nothing to distract me from the peculiar silver eyes which seemed to be trying to bore a hole through my skull. So yeah, I figured contemplating the discomfort of my current position was by far the better option. Regrettably the owner of said silver eyes didn't seem to share this sentiment.

"You got us arrested" she hissed, tone accusing.

"Hey now" I argued "This is at least fifty percent your fault, therefore I think you should take fifty percent of the blame."

"What! No!"

"Alright, forty percent." I didn't think it was possible but the silver eyes seemed to redouble their efforts to drill a path through my head.

"Thirty percent?" I offered weakly.

My unwilling partner in crime, realizing that she couldn't vaporize me with her gaze, collapsed onto the metal table in front of her with a groan.

"My life is ruined" She lamented with a wail. "All I was trying to do was stop a bad guy then you were there breaking everything and then that cranky woman showed up and now I'm in a police station and I'm going to go to jail and I'll never see my family again and never become a Huntress and... and."

"Wow you didn't even breathe once during that entire thing." The glare she levelled me with was a keen reminder that I really should learn to shut my mouth from time to time.

"You shut up! This is your fault." An accusing finger was levelled at the bridge of my nose. A stinging retort died on my tongue as I saw her eyes go wet. Oh shit, I thought, time to do damage control. I never could stand seeing people cry.

"Ok Red chill for one second. Firstly, I've been arrested, you're just here for questioning. Notice how I'm handcuffed and you aren't."

It was true. The second the cops had gotten their hands on me a pair of cuffs had been slapped on and I had been shoved into this room. She, on the other hand, had been gently escorted to a seat next to me in the interrogation room. My explanation seemed to work as I could see the tears receding in her eyes. I forged on.

"Secondly, we are not going to jail. We were in combat against criminals who had their Aura unlocked, collateral damage was a given. They'll ask us a few questions, make a few threats, tell us to not leave town and we'll be on our merry way before the morning, our heads held high with the knowledge we fought a dangerous criminal and came out on top."

"You really think so" She didn't look happy, but at least she didn't look like she was going to cry anymore.

"I know so." I answered with a smile. This smile was wiped a second later when the door to the room slammed open and a rumbling voice emerged.

"You know wrong you little brat." I didn't bother to look, already knowing who was there. In the age old tradition of trying to appear as innocent as possible I plastered the largest smile I could on my face and turned to face the door.

"Heyyyyyyyyyy Rusty" I drawled at the mountain of hair and muscle that stood in the doorway. "I know this looks bad but let me just say one thing first." I took a deep breath, knowing that my next sentence could decide whether I lived or died. "It was all her fault."

"HEY!"

As I received twin glares from my enormous mentor and the adorable girl next to me I couldn't help but sigh. This world sucked sometimes.

* * *

As much as I would like to say my entrance into this world was through something awesome like a magic portal or a wish granting god the truth is I entered the universe of RWBY the old fashion way, being born. I don't remember much of the actual birthing process, thank god, or even my first few hours as an infant, my memory of it a jumble of loud noises and uncomfortable sensations. My first clear memory in this world was opening my eyes to see two gigantic beings peering down at me, which, to me at least, was cause to freak the fuck out. I later found out I caused them quite the shock but seeing as I was too busy screaming my head off I didn't really notice. Eventually I calmed down and quickly came to grasp the fact that I, someone who had very clear memories of being a grown ass man, was suddenly a baby. Not a particularly happy baby either, the sudden inability to move, talk or control my bowels had left me rather grumpy at times but overall, I think I took it pretty well.

I'm proud to say I figured out where I was pretty quickly. The first clue that I wasn't in the same universe as my last life came in the form of my parents who I had noticed, after my initial freak out, possessed some features that didn't belong to a normal human. Namely a small pair of antlers on my mother and a lion's tail on my father. Being a fan of RWBY in my previous life I immediately likened them to Faunus but I chalked it up to a coincidence. True confirmation came when I was barely a few days old in the form of the enormous broken moon hanging in the sky.

So, I thought to myself, this is it, I'm really in RWBY. That. Was. So. Cool!

And in my opinion it truly was. So what if there where Grimm, crazy ass criminals and four kingdoms on the brink of war. I had been given the chance to live out any die-hard fans ultimate dream, to live and breathe the stories we love so much, how could I possibly be sad about that?

My first order of business had obviously been to think of a game plan. I had no way of knowing whether the events of the show would truly happen, or if any of the characters were even real, but after a bit of thought I concluded that it didn't truly matter. Canon RWBY or not my goal from now till I was 17 was the same, learn to kick arse and get into a Huntsman academy. Becoming a Huntsman was a given, I mean what kind of person would come to a world where there were essentially superheros who fought monsters of darkness and despair and think 'nah screw that nonsense, I'm going to be a farmer'. This was my chance to live an awesome life full of action and adventure and I wasn't going to screw it up.

* * *

Being a kid again was seriously fun in some ways but sucked so much in other. As an infant I got to nap whenever I wanted, something which strongly appealed to teenage me, but I had to eat mush which I refused to call food. I got a pretty good handle on my new parents and home through eavesdropping on everyone who came to visit my parents and what I heard painted a very positive picture. My father, Leo King the Lion faunus (yes, I chuckled when I first heard that one) was the leader of the town guard of the town of Carn. A huge man with a wild mane of stock of blonde hair which seemed to settle on his shoulders in a manner which could be seen as a mane with a bit of squinting, he was clearly respected within the community and would frequently have the leader of the town over to discuss recent activities within the settlement.

My mother April, a deer faunus, had to be the sweetest person I had ever met. Whenever she took me to the market or out on an evening stroll she would be greeted by every single person we came across…. However, I learned all the sweetness had a dark side. My mother enjoyed knitting. She particularly enjoyed knitting holiday outfits. If you think the occasional Christmas sweater you received was bad you should see the horror of an outfit spawned by a holiday called Colour day. Luckily whichever merciful force which had sent me here perceived this and equipped me with tools to deal with it. The face my mother made when I used my new retractable claws to shred the abomination of clothing she tried to make me wear was hilarious.

I immediately decided against trying to blend in and act like a normal child for two reasons.

One: This was a brutal world of monsters and criminals which I would need every advantage I could muster to survive.

Two: Being a kid was fucking annoying.

I maintain that the greatest horror I have witnessed in this world to date was my first 'playgroup' with a bunch of snot nosed toddlers. My mother had to practically pull me off another child I was attempting to strangle after he drooled on me.

Regardless, while I wasn't going to reveal my previous life I had no intention of holding myself back for the sake of appearing normal. After I picked up the nuances of the language I tackled the written word as soon as I could. I read books on history, math and anything I could get my hands on, always moving at a pace that would make me seem gifted but not to the point of making anyone suspicious. I asked boundless questions under the guise of a child's curiosity to see where, and when, I was.

As far as I could gather it had been 80 years since the great war and about 40 years since the Faunus Rights Revolution ended. Where this put me in regards to the timeline of the show I have no idea but hey it was nice to know something at least. My family and I lived in a small town of 400 people which resided on the continent on Sanus, more towards Vale than Vacuo. It used to be a mining town however it had soon been discovered that the mountain range which formed a ring around the valley in which the town resided restricted the Grimm to a single entrance through a natural gorge which could be easily defended. Because of this people stuck around even after the mine had run dry and the town quickly became a popular rest spot for people making the journey from Vale to Vacuo. In a world where there was no such thing as complete safety the town of Carn was as close as anyone could get outside of the four kingdoms.

* * *

My arms trembled as I blocked another strike. The cocky brat smirked as he forced me back, keeping me on defence. He, and most of his classmates, hadn't been pleased when I had been moved into their class at the beginning of the year. Apparently their 15-year-old pride had been insulted by being in the same class as a 11-year-old and in typical brat fashion they had decided to show their displeasure by beating me during the daily spars. Not that I would make it easy for them I thought as I side stepped his latest swing, bringing my wooden sword down on his arm, his grunt of pain music to my ears.

"Enough" a voice called out. Lowering my sword, I turned to face our teacher, keeping an eye on my opponent in case he tried to get one last swing in. Not that I expected him to, everyone in the class having seen the punishment for disobeying the grizzled town guard's instructions.

"Midas" he snapped "I have told you time and time again you need to be more offensive, don't just stand there taking hits like a training dummy, fight back. Unless you want to be moved down to an easier class with the rest of your age group".

I scowled internally. It was all well and good to say that but I was fighting children four years older than myself. I may have the edge in skill and form but there was little I could do against the sheer speed and strength difference. However, experience had taught me saying this aloud would only invite ridicule and harsh rebuke so I held my tongue.

"Yes teacher" I replied evenly, tuning out his criticisms of my sparring partner. Looking around the field I surveyed my fellow classmates. The town of Carn was of the opinion that everyone who grew up inside their walls should have at least a basic knowledge of self-defence and combat. As such from ages 10 to 14 students of the town school would be required to spend their afternoons doing basic drills and sparring behind the school under the tutorage of town guards. After the age of 14 students who wished to follow a combat based career could join a smaller class and train to become a town guard. These were the students I was faced against. As the son of the current leader of the town guard it was expected that this was the path I would follow and was the choice my father insisted I make.

At the thought of my father I allowed my scowl to become external. While he was a great father and a kind man there was one issue that had come to head over the past few years, and that was me becoming a Huntsman. I had initially declared I was going to become a Huntsman after hearing stories of them soon after I began to talk. I could see that my words were dismissed as a childish dream, after all what child didn't say they wanted to become one of the heroic protectors of the innocent. However, as I grew older and stuck firmly to the idea of leaving the town to become a Huntsman I could see my father's attitude became a bit strained. When I had learned that my father was actually a retired Huntsman himself I approached him over training only to be turned away, told that the lessons I were receiving already were more than enough. Subtle encouragements to drop the idea which may have worked on other children were useless against me and when I first displayed a, as the first-year combat instructor called it, prodigious talent for swordsmanship my father looked about ready to crack. I knew it wouldn't be long until he called me to talk about the issue and I was ready for it.

* * *

I loved my father's office. As an important member within the village my father was allowed better accommodations than most and while the rest of the house was a humble affair typical within a village this size his office was another matter. A grand wooden desk sat in front of a roaring fire place, on top of which rested my father's greatsword, Roar. A truly impressive 2 metre length of dust forged steel the colour of burnished bronze, topped with a leather grip and pommel shaped as a snarling Lion. To merely lift the blade required incredible strength yet my father swung it with a controlled grace which none in the town could match. My admiration of the blade was cut off by my father's voice.

"Take a seat Midas" he ordered, motioning to one of the chairs in front of his desk. Once I had settled he continued. "This is much earlier than I had been expecting to been having this conversation however I think it's time we had a talk about your future."

"Why now?" I asked, despite knowing the answer.

"Your progression with your studies have made your mother and I extremely proud, and despite only starting a year ago, Jet tells me you are already 3 or 4 years ahead of your peers in combat class. You show a maturity and wisdom far beyond those of your age group and I feel it is time to reward that by treating you as a mature adult and having a frank discussion with you. Son… I want you to give up this dream of becoming a Huntsman. Nothing good lies along that path."

It was probably a sign I was getting too accustomed to acting like a child that my first reaction was to yell. Luckily, I reigned in my initial reaction. I wanted to yell and rail and carry on but I knew that would get me nowhere.

"Why?" I asked "Huntsman and Huntresses are our first line of defence against the Grimm. They are humanities protectors. Why would you not want me to become one of them?"

I watched as my father rose from his chair, his face flickering through a myriad of emotions before settling on one I could only guess as resignation. Turning his back to me he faced the fire.

"Son did anyone ever tell you of my youth?" He questioned, his voice soft. I cast my mind back. My parents had told me stories of how they met in Vale and recognized each other from their childhood on Menagerie, stories of their childhood adventures and antics. I remembered my mother rocking me gently in front of the fire, telling me of her teenage years spent practicing sewing and knitting, hoping to become a master seamstress before moving to the mainland to pursue a career. The more I thought the more I realized how little I knew about my father's life before he came to Carn. I answered.

"Not that I can recall, no."

I settled into further into the chair as my father took on what I fondly called his 'lecturing pose'.

"After the Faunus Rights Revolution, the chieftain of Menagerie was eager to have as many young faunus become Huntsman and Huntresses as they possible. His idea was twofold. If faunus were seen defending the citizens of the kingdoms from the Grimm threat, then perhaps it would ease tensions between our people. Alternatively, if that didn't work and violence erupted between our peoples again it wouldn't hurt to have a small army of highly trained fighters defending our rights." For a moment my father seemed lost, staring into the flames with a distant expression. From the tense stance adopted I could assume that this conversation was not bringing back happy memories for him.

"My brother was one of those selected to travel to an academy and learn the way of the Huntsman. I protested, I wanted to go, but the Chieftain could not be swayed. I had responsibilities, he said, I needed to stay in Menagerie. Of course, I disagreed with this and in the dead of night I stole my family's sword and snuck onto a boat leaving for the mainland. I never saw my family again. Once I arrived I joined an academy, was assigned a group and graduated, becoming a Huntsman." A fond smile broke through his grim expression." We thought we were invincible in those days, taking every mission that came our way and paying the dangers no thought." The smile faded. "But the risk of the job could not be ignored forever and one day they caught up with us. I was the only survivor. I swore away the life of a Huntsman, met your mother, and took a job here." He turned to face me. "I lost my family, my friends, and nearly my life, all because I wanted to be a Huntsman. I am not trying to stop you from living your dreams, I'm trying to protect you from being hurt. You are talented, you could be anything. Please son, give up on becoming a Huntsman."

I blinked. That was a lot of information to process in a very short amount of time. It appeared, however, that I wasn't allowed time to dissect this new information as the older blonde settled into his seat on the other side of the desk, obviously expecting a response.

I resisted the urge to sigh heavily as I eyed my father in return. It was very possible that my next words would determine whether or not I had my families support, and more importantly my father's training, on my side. Luckily, I had a speech planned for this exact situation. Gathering myself I said.

"Have you ever heard the saying 'With great power comes great responsibility'" I could feel the muscles in my face straining in an attempt to keep a neutral expression.

"Not in those exact words but the sentiment is not unfamiliar." The words came from him slowly, however he appeared intrigued. Thank you Spiderman!

"Not to sound too arrogant but as you said yourself I am talented. I'm twice as capable as anyone else my age and that gap only grows larger by the year. Who is to say that the same would not hold true of myself as a Huntsman. I have been given this talent, this gift, and if I let myself languish in this town, if I waste my gift, then every person out there who could have been saved, who needed a Huntsman and there was none, that's on me."

"You possibly blame yourself for people dying, you can't save everyone."

"I know that, but I could save some of them, and isn't that enough of a reason to try?"

The room was silent after that. I could see my father considering my words, rolling them around in his mind, weighing each sentence and dissecting every word. I imagine it created a stark contrast to my own thought which were moving along the lines of a song of prayer to Stan Lee and the Marvel gods.

The oppressive silence finally ended with a heavy sigh from my father.

"You couldn't have made this easier on your old man and been a bit less convincing, could you?" I could see he was trying to look annoyed but the amusement shone through. I chuckled.

"Where is the fun in that".

He rose with a snort.

"Stand up." I got to my feet as he walked around the desk to champ a hand on my shoulder.

"You're a bit younger than is customary but gods know you are mature enough to handle the responsibility."

"Huh?" I bit out, confused as to what was happening.

"Shhh hold still I'm trying to concentrate. Or do you not want your Aura unlocked after all."

I froze. Fuck yeah I did. For once I decided to keep my mouth shut lest I say something to make him change his mind. I could see his face grow serious and all of a sudden I could feel... something. Something at the edges of my senses moving, tugging at something in the back of my mind.

"Midas King" My father's voice interrupted my investigation of the new sensation, bring all my attention to him. "Do you swear to always use your abilities to help those less fortunate than you, to protect the innocent." I stood straighter under his hand, my body feeling the importance of what was happening. I answered.

"I do."

"Do you swear to fight those who would do harm to others, be they man or Grimm."

"I do."

"Do you swear to not just follow the laws of men and kings, but to do what is moral and just."

"I do."

"And do you swear that no matter what, you will listen to your heart and do what you think is right"

"I do"

"By my power I unlock your soul and place this burden, this responsibility, on your shoulders. I hope that you will forgive me."

* * *

The next two years passed in a blur. After my mother finished laying into my father for effectively condemning me to a life of combat my father sat me down and explained a few things which weren't explained in books on the subject. Turns out Aura was good for a lot more than just protecting its wielder from harm but making them stronger and faster and well. While these effects didn't usually manifest in a clearly tangible way until the user learned to control and focus their Aura through their body, if a person had enough of it naturally then a small increase in physical ability could be felt straight away. And... welll... I had lots. Or so my father told me. Not a cheesy B list action hero who could stop a Nevermore with just one punch amount but a large amount none the less. I assumed it had something to do with me being reincarnated, after all Aura came from the soul and my soul was obviously quite a resilient one. I chose not to question it. Why argue with a good thing?

After giving me a brief rundown of what to expect now I had my Aura unlocked my father took me out back for a spar to get a bit of feel for things and to see if I could block a blow with my Aura without training. Naturally I couldn't, my Aura shield weak and unfocused, but after being smacked all around the yard with a wooden training sword I got a bit frustrated and struck back. I don't think either of us expected my hard wood sword to shatter like that but judging from the grin on my father's face it certainly wasn't an unwelcome development. From there a few strength test determined that while I wouldn't be bench pressing any Beowolfs any time soon the teenagers I usually faced in combat class were in for a hell of a surprise. I don't know what my father saw when he looked at me upon realizing this but I was immediately banned from sparring anyone besides those trained with Aura. As there was only 18 people in the entire town who met these criteria and most of them were retired I spent a lot of time training with my father.

Under his tutelage I learned how to control my Aura. From strengthening the shield which protected my body to focusing it internally and increasing my strength and speed I learned all the basic lessons and started on my path to becoming a Huntsman. He also taught me his fighting style which, to my surprise, mainly involved working on my speed.

"The biggest problem for those of us who wield heavy weapons is we are slow. All the strength in the world is worthless if you can't hit anything because it's running circle around you."

The logic was clear but let me tell you running sprints while swinging a sword as long as you are really sucked. The results, however, spoke for themselves. My first real combat situation came shortly before my 12th birthday.

I awoke to a pounding at the door downstairs and someone calling for my father.

"Leo, Grimm have made it through the pass" This wasn't unusual, small packs wandered into the valley every now and again but by the urgency in the watchman's voice made it clear something was different. As I climbed out of bed I could hear the door open and the rumbling tone of my father's voice address the guard, too low for even my naturally superior Faunus hearing to make out. I was pulling on my shirt when my door was flung open to reveal my father.

"Midas, get your gear and meet me at the front gate in 2 minutes." I could tell he was in full guardsman mode from the commanding tone of his voice.

"What's the problem" I asked as I buckled my belt. For him to be this serious something must have gone wrong. My thoughts were confirmed when his face turned grim.

"A pack of Beowolfs have gotten though the pass. We don't know how many because Spruce when silent before he could give any more detail. We think they got him."

This was worrying. Spruce was one of the more capable members of the town guard, a retired solider of the Vale army. Without Aura there was no way he could have taken on more than one at a time but he was by far experienced enough to get away before they got him. I gave a nod of understanding to my father and he moved away, no doubt to go and suit up. Hastily I fastened my boots and strapped my sword to my back. Many would think it was irresponsible to take someone as young as I into battle against the Grimm but realistically with my Aura unlocked and the one on one training I had received from the best fighters in the town I was in a better position to handle the Grimm than half the guardsman.

The strap of my sword dug uncomfortably into my shoulder as I ran to the gates but I had no time to readjust it as I got there and moved to stand beside my father. A rough map of the valley had been pinned to the surface of the wall and it was using this he was giving a briefing.

"Four minutes ago we lost contact with outlook one here at the mouth of the pass. Before it went down Spruce re-laid he had observed a pack of Beowolfs exiting the pass. Their number is unknown but we must assume from the speed with which he was overrun it is a lot. We will wait for them here" He motioned to a clearing about a mile from the village "The pack will have to pass this point at some point to get to the village and quite frankly the idea of fighting these bastards in the forest is not an appealing one. Say your goodbyes and let's move out."

With a nod to the men operating the mechanism which locked the gate the doors swung open.

"Stay close to me Midas, I would rather a Grimm get me then your mother if you got lost."

I threw him a brief grin, appreciating the attempt to calm my nerves. No matter how much training I had received the prospect of facing real Grimm at last had my stomach turning. As we moved to the clearing I tried to keep my breathing under control but from the looks of the men around me I mustn't have done the perfect job I thought I had. A rough laugh broke me from my thoughts.

"Don't worry lad, if you can beat a Beowolf half as easily as you can beat your entire class the rest of us may as well go home." I turned to look at the face of my old combat instructor, noting his nonchalant expression and the ease with which he balanced his rifle on his shoulder. "Your dad's an old hand at this, master of strategy. The Grimm will have to be lucky to get within spitting distance of us."

The easy confidence worked to reduce my nerves and I nodded in thanks as he moved off to his designated position. We took a rough semicircle formation on our side of the clearing, some in trees and others on the ground. When everyone was in position my father gave the final order.

"Once they break through the trees let them have it. Beowolfs aren't too smart so no need to try and draw them into the open. If they manage to make it to our side concentrate fire on the rear of their ranks as we handle the closer ones. Now silence, we don't want them to know we are here until it's too late."

For 10 minutes we laid on the ground, eyes trained on the far side of the opening. No one dared move and only the soft panting of men running high on adrenaline could be heard. Nothing moved until suddenly they were just... there. They emerged from the shadows of the trees as though they had been born from them, the only thing marking them apart from the inky blackness of the woods behind them the glow of their red eyes and white of bone mask. These were the creatures of Grimm and they were terrifying. Guns roared around me as the guards opened fire on the creatures, sending the first few crashing to the ground as they were filled with bullets. Over them leapt more Beowolfs, running headfirst into the stream of fire in a mindless attempt to reach our lines. Over the din of gunfire I could hear my father roaring orders. In response the first group of guards reloaded as the second group unleashed upon the enemy, leaving no gap in the rain of bullets. I vaguely heard an order for all melee fighters to form up and get ready to defend those in the trees.

Heart racing I drew my sword as various parts of my training flashed through my mind. I watched as the Grimm seemed to draw closer and closer, each wave making it further than the last. It became clear in the moment the gun squads rotated fire and reloading. There were too many for them to take. We were going to have to fight. I glanced along the line to see the 7 of us who formed the melee team form up. As the only ones in the town with Aura it was our job to act as a shield between the Grimm and those who didn't. Standing at the front of the group, Roar drawn and ready for action was my father. The tide of Grimm drew closer and closer, their sheer numbers overwhelming the guns. They were so close I swear I could count individual strands of fur when with a roar my father leapt into action. It wasn't until that moment I understood the difference between a Huntsman, even a retired one, and the normal person. He fell upon the incoming Grimm like a meteorite, greatsword cutting through their numbers like a scythe through grass. With one swing he split them in two, their powerful arms doing little to stop the golden sword from its deadly path. My view was cut off as the rest of the squad moved in to confront the enemy and, to my surprise, I found myself moving with them.

A single Beowolf, slightly ahead of the rest was my target. With a roar the black beast swung at me but I was prepared, catching the claws on my sword before directing them into the ground. Off balance it swung its other arm only to find itself missing a paw as I sheered through its clumsy strike. It's unknown whether a Grimm is capable of feeling pain or shock but I didn't give it a chance to process its new lopsidedness as I bought my blade overhead and drove it onto its skull with all the strength I could muster. A part of my brain took pride in seeing the beast nearly split in two but that took a back seat as I searched for a new target. I was thankful for the guns keeping the Grimm off my back as I chose the next closest Grimm, lunging forward to meet it with a thrust. The rest of the battle faded into a blur as I sought out Grimm after Grimm, killing one to move onto another until with a cry I removed a Beewolf's head only to look around and find there were no Grimm left standing.

A hand clamped down on my shoulder and I nearly swung at it, still high on adrenaline, but my father's voice cut through the battle haze.

"Easy, easy, they're all gone." He was right, only a few dissolving corpses were left of the pack which had assaulted the valley. My heart leapt with joy only to crash a few moments later when I saw that not all the corpses on the battlefield were dissolving. My throat felt dry as I asked.

"Who did we lose?" As always he didn't sugar-coat it.

"Sky, Ross, Mag, a few others. Sky and Mag ran out of Aura and a few of them managed to make it to the gunners before I could get there. Add that to Spruce and we lost 8 all up."

A bitter feeling welled up in me as I stared at the dissolving corpse in front of me.

"Are there usually so many?" I asked. Losing one or two men on a mission like this was a part of life outside the kingdoms but never had I remembered losing this many.

"No. Not even close. I don't know why but this is at least three times as many as I have ever seen in the valley. Somethings up and I intend to find out what." With a final pat he walked away to oversee the transport of the fallen back to the village and with a final glance at the nearly gone body of the Beowolf, I turned and followed him.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading. If you have any criticism or advice feel free to review or PM me.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So here is chapter two of A World Full of Grimm. I'm finding writing very challenging, which is both a good and a bad thing. On one hand it's disheartening because I feel like I have some pretty solid ideas but I'm butchering them when I go to put them on paper. On the other hand I love a challenge so I intend to stick with it until I have reached some level of competence. Anyway, you didn't come here to read some author's notes, nah, you came for the story. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Mum, Dad, there is a bear at the door" I called, staring up at what had to be the largest, hairiest person I had ever seen. Now I wasn't small anymore, puberty had hit me like a battering ram and I was riding the hormonal waves like a champ, seeing as it was my second time and all. At nearly thirteen years of age my height had shot up to a respectable 5.7ft, showing that I would most likely be taking after Leo in the height department, but that was nothing compared to the guy towering over me.

"Who are you calling a bear pipsqueak" The bear, as I had designated him, growled.

"Mum, Dad, the bear can talk." I called, looking back into the house. My father's chuckling figure descended the stairs.

"Let him in Midas, he's an old friend of mine."

"I didn't know you knew any bears" I mumbled, moving aside to allow him in.

Shooting me a glare the figure walked inside to greet my father.

"Leo, been too long." He stated gruffly.

"Indeed, it has. Please come take a seat." Shutting the door I watched the tall men go into another room and began to follow. I'd never met any of my father's old friends before, hell, I'd rarely to people from outside the town before. Visitors were common in Carn but the men and women who came through weren't usually the type to stop and chat, mostly they were just travellers just looking for a place to bed that night. The opportunity to have a sustained conversation with someone from the outside world was too tempting to pass up. Entering the room, I saw my mother drawing the newcomer in for a hug which I noted with amusement he looked extremely uncomfortable with.

"Rusty" my mother's soft voice could barely be heard from where it was buried in his immense, tarnished iron beard, "It's been years, how are you?"

"Fine April, I've been fine." He answered, all the while weakly trying to remove my mother from his body. I could sympathize, once she had you in the death grip she called a hug it would take a Goliath to remove her. Luckily for him she seemed to have her fill of affection and released him.

"You're just in time for dinner" She said after a glance at the clock. "You will join us, won't you?"

Shifting uncertainly on the spot the guy, Rusty as he had been identified, answered.

"I don't want to impose, there is food at the inn."

"Nonsense, you will be joining us, I insist." While her tone was still pleasant the slight dimming of her smile and underlying steel in her voice made it abundantly clear this was not a request. Evidently Rusty had dealings with my mother before as he chose not to argue, no doubt knowing it was impossible to deny her anything. Getting a nod of consent from the hairy man her smile returned full force and she bustled out of the room. Once gone the newcomer shot a look at my father who was wearing an amused smirk on his face.

"Why is it I can tell the council of Vacuo to get fucked but can't turn down a dinner request from her?" He growled.

"The power of women work in mysterious ways" The grinning blonde answered wisely.

"Bugger off it's not all women, just that one. Couldn't you have married that dark haired girl from Vale? She was nice, she was quiet, she didn't make me feel like I was standing in front of an army of Grimm, why not her?"

Laughter was my father's only response. Catching sight of me he called.

"Midas come over here and meet Rusty, an old academy friend of mine." Striding up to the man I tried to arrange my face in a sheepish manner.

"Sorry about the bear comment, you just took me by surprise and all that."

The slight narrowing of his eyes was all I needed to see to realize he didn't buy my apology in the slightest. Grasping my outstretched hand, he shook it roughly.

"No harm done."

His words were innocent but the fact my Aura level was steadily going down as it struggled to protect my hand was a pretty clear indicator of his true feelings. Another burst of laughter from my father provided the opportunity to snatch my hand back before any more damage could be done.

"Still doing the old squeeze test Rusty" He chuckled. "You know there are easier ways to test if someone has Aura then trying to crush their hand."

"It's effective." Was the reply.

"True, true. Midas, would you mind going and helping your mother prepare dinner. Rusty and I have some catching up to do."

Nodding my head in affirmation I moved out of the room. As I was closing the door behind me I caught my fathers lowered voice.

"So, tell me, did you find anything on your way in?"

The reply was lost as the door closed, leaving me to wonder, what were they looking for?

* * *

Dinner was a light-hearted affair. Whatever serious business they had been talking about before seemed to be put on hold as Rusty told tales of my father's adventures and misdeeds at the academy. It was a surprise to see such a serious looking man look so animated as he told stories of various shenanigans from their youthful days.

"... to get the advantage his opponent yanked on Leo's tail. I swear he must have jumped 4 feet in the air. Of course, when he landed we just about had to dog pile him to stop him tearing a certain part of his opponent's anatomy off. I won't tell you which but let's just say no male ever tried to touch his tail again." Laughter rang out from around the table, even my father joining in though he looked a touch embarrassed.

"I was much wilder in those days, luckily time has mellowed me well."

"Is that so? Doesn't seem like you've changed that much to me." Rusty replied, holding up his plate of fish.

Fish was big in the King household. When I first discovered my faunus features I initially thought I had taken after my father and become a Lion faunus. However, as time went on and I developed it became obvious that while we may both belong to the feline family we existed on different branches. While we couldn't say for sure until I finished growing my narrower frame and natural speed seemed to point to a smaller, faster species of cat, possibly a cheetah or leopard. Regardless, with two members of the cat family in the household fish was a common meal and certainly not an unwelcome one from my point of view. I refocused as Rusty launched into another story.

"I remember when the cafeteria had an all you could eat salmon day, your dad literally threw some guy out a window for jumping ahead of him in the queue." Another round of laughter followed while my father's expression grew even more sheepish.

"As I said it was a wilder time, one which is behind me."

"Yeah right, you'll never change Belladonna."

And with that one word the mood in the room plummeted. My mind was reeling, why was he calling my dad Belladonna. Before I could ask Rusty seemed to catch on to the change in atmosphere.

"Ah, sorry about that, I meant to say King. Force of habit you know." He said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. A sigh escaped my father.

"It's fine, you knew me by that name for a long time."

The sombre mood made it clear that this was an issue that shouldn't be talked about but the burning curiosity inside forced me to ask.

"Why did he call you Belladonna dad?"

I already knew the most likely answer but his next words confirmed it.

"That was my family name before I married your mother. King was her maiden name which I took. I didn't... I didn't feel like being a Belladonna anymore, not after what happened. Please, drop it." I nodded in understanding.

"Now if you'll excuse us Rusty and I have to get back to business. We'll be in the study if you need us." With that he stood, gesturing for Rusty to follow. With a grunt the huge man rose from his chair.

"Thank you for the meal April, delicious as always."

I vaguely heard my mother reply but the words were lost on me as I mulled over what had just happened. So, my father was a Belladonna. Unless Belladonna turned out to be a common surname in the faunus community that meant that somehow, he was related to Blake and Ghira. Roughly going off his age and build I was willing to wager that the brother he mentioned may have been Ghira himself leaving me in the position of cousin to current White Fang member and future Beacon academy student Blake Belladonna. I couldn't confirm this without more information but assuming it was correct I tried to think what this meant for my future plans. Honestly it didn't change much in terms of my goal up until I turned 17. I couldn't exactly go traipsing off into the countryside looking to "rescue" her from the White Fang especially considering at this point in time she probably wouldn't even want to leave. Nor could I just rock up in front of her and tell her she was my cousin and expect her to believe me. No, I decided, for now the best thing to do would be to continue as if nothing had changed and figure it out when I get to Beacon. Although, I added with an afterthought, if she is family then I think 'Kill Adam Taurus' could move up a few places in my To Do list. That guy was the king of creepy ex's if what I remembered was correct and family was family after all, no matter how distant.

It was starting to concern me how many of my plans for the future fell into the category of "I'll just wing it when I get there" but a mental shrug dismissed the thought. Many nights in the past were spent wondering whether I should attempt to make a definite plan but ultimately I decided against it. Most likely the second I intervened in an event most of my future knowledge would go out the window sheerly because I was there. I could probably expect the big events to stay the same, the breach and the events at the Vytal festival for example, but no doubt inconsistencies would begin to appear once I arrived on scene. All a plan would do is leave me blindsided when something unexpected happened and make me less able to flow and adapt with the changes.

Shutting down all thoughts of the future I moved to help my mother with the dishes. Needling my father for information could come later but for now there was work to do.

* * *

The world spun as I desperately back-flipped away from the massive axe blade, barely dodging as it split the air where I had been a moment earlier. Barely having time to right myself, I brought my blade around to ward off another blow. Using the momentum of the hit I spun on the spot, bringing my greatsword around in a wide arc to deliver a powerful blow only for it to be stopped as my opponent caught it upon his handle with insulting ease. Backpedalling rapidly, I tried to make room only to have him follow, swinging furiously as I ducked, dodged and parried his strikes. The problem was my opponent knew my style of fighting revolved around using my natural agility and the length of my weapon to keep my enemies as a distance where I could use my speed and strength to deliver fast, powerful strikes, and he was countering this by keeping as close as possible and raining hits on me using his knees, elbows, and the shaft of his axe. Making some room with a vicious kick to his knees I capitalized on this by delivering a flurry of strikes, the momentum of each leading into the next. As if to show just how outclassed I was each of my attacks was deflected with quick, precise movements before finally catching my overhead strike between his axe blades and twisting, tearing the weapon from my hands. Having no time to lament the loss of my blade I desperately pulled out the two knives I kept sheathed behind my back, crossing them to catch the axe coming at me in an overhead strike. With a pained grunt the impact sent me to my knees, my arms struggling to keep the weapon from continuing its path. Inch by inch it forced my arms to lower, the axe blade moving closer to my face as the owner leaned on it more and more. Distracted as I was by the impending blade I missed the foot whistling towards me until too late, catching it full in the chest. As I flew back I could see my steel coloured Aura shimmer as it protected me from what would have no doubt been a rib shattering blow, indicating that my reserves had run out. Spinning in mid-air to land on my hands and feet I regarded my foe from where he stood on the spot he kicked me, no doubt knowing that would be the end of the fight.

With a sigh I stood, dusting myself off as I went.

"Looks like you win again Rusty." I called as straightened. "Nearly had you that time." I teased. The look he sent me showed just how much he disagreed with the statement.

"Don't feel too bad son" my father counselled as he moved from the tree line to join us in the training field. "Rusty is one of the best Huntsman I know, far better than me."

"Only because you retired and went soft" The rust coloured giant replied. Meeting in the middle of the field we began the post training warm down as the spar was analysed and advice was given.

"Your style is solid' Rusty commented "by the looks of it you're never going to be as big as your father so you're right to try and use your extra speed to overwhelm their defences with multiple hits rather than power through them with huge blows. My advice would be to work on your close quarters combat, get used to throwing knee strikes and elbows, as well as build up upper body strength so you can get more strength behind your shorter blows which will get you more room. Other than that, gain a bit more experience fighting people rather than Grimm and grow up a bit then maybe, maybe, you'll have a shot at beating me one day." Finishing his stretches, he walked over and dropped one of his enormous hands on my shoulder. "You're a good kid, don't get too cocky and remember what your father taught you and you should be fine."

"Do you really have to go" I asked. It had been three weeks since he rolled into town and in that time, I had come to enjoy his rough sense of humour and gruff mannerism. It didn't hurt that I finally had a decent sparring partner apart from my father for the first time in years.

"Sorry kid but duty calls, can't stay around relaxing here forever, there is a job to do." Withdrawing his hand he went over to my father and exchanged a few quiet words. Gathering his equipment he walked out of the field, throwing one last farewell over his shoulder as he left.

Picking up my fallen sword I turned to the towering form of my father. This was the first chance I'd had in weeks to talk to him privately and I wasn't going to waste it.

"So why did you call him here. As much as I appreciated the sparring partner I doubt it was for my benefit."

Turning to me with a neutral face he retorted "What makes you think I just didn't call him here out of the desire to see an old friend?"

Holding up my hand I flicked off fingers as I counted my reasons.

"The frequent trips out of the pass and late night meetings in your office, the proximity to the largest Grimm attack ever seen by the town, all that hush hush talk of "finding something". Do I need to go on?"

Motioning for me to walk with him we began to head home.

"You're too nosy for your own good you know that?" He asked.

"I am what you made me" I replied. "Wasn't it you who said a good leader should always be aware of all important events going on around them?"

A deep sigh escaped the golden-haired man followed by a chuckle.

"I heard somewhere that at some point in their lives children are meant to do what their fathers say without question. You seemed to skip right over that phase, didn't you?" Shrugging my shoulders in response I waited for his answer as we made our way into the town, greeting people as we went past.

"You're right" my father eventually answered as he waved to the baker's wife. "I did call him here for a reason. As you know Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, and to draw that many Grimm there must have been a lot of negativity going around. He was here to investigate the source of it."

"It can't have been anyone in the town" I reasoned "Things have been pretty peaceful here for years." Sure, we had our share of bar brawls and petty theft but on the whole Carn was a rather sedentary place to live.

"Our thoughts exactly which is why he spent so much time heading out the pass and looking around there." Arriving home we dusted off our boots before heading in. Gesturing for me to follow we headed into his office and he closed the door. "We feared that there may have been a bandit group in the area. The Grimm could have followed them and accidentally stumbled upon the pass and found Spruce." I stiffened at the mention of bandits. While I vaguely remember bandits being mentioned in RWBY the threat they represented wasn't emphasized nearly enough, frankly being attacked and taken over by a group of bandits meant the death of a town and all those who lived in it. While the word bandit may bring to mind a poorly trained poorly armed scavenger nothing could be further from the truth in this world. Groups of bandits usually consisted of disgraced soldiers led by one or more rouge Huntsmen, each one trained in combat and at least basic Aura control. To live in the wilds every day as they did lead to your average bandit being quite a competent fighter and with the supplies stolen from the towns they invaded every one of them was well armed and equipped. To have your town picked clean by bandits meant there was no way to flee before the inevitable wave of Grimm who followed them, draw by the negativity they possessed and inspired, attacked. Bandits were the biggest fear of any town and to hear that they may have been skulking around nearby was a disturbing thought. Voicing this I asked

"Did you find any sign of them?"

"Yes, we did. However, we scoured the area for weeks and didn't find any new signs meaning they may have just been passing by. The Grimm who attacked us could have split off from the main group and wandered our way. None the less I have sent out word and have everyone in the watch on high alert. If there are bandits out there then we need to make it look like attacking will be more trouble than it's worth."

While this news was worrying there wasn't anything I could do about it so I decided to ask the other question which had been bugging me since the beginning of Rusty's visit.

"So, what's the deal with the Belladonna business."

With that my father's face turned stony.

"I thought you agreed to drop it."

"I'm a curious soul" I admitted with a shrug. "After all this is my family we are talking about, seems like something I should know."

With letting out the longest, deepest sigh I had ever heard my father turned his annoyed expression to me.

"Far too nosy." Another shrug was my only reply.

"Fine. As I said my original family name was Belladonna. After I left Menagerie I cut off all contact with them and haven't talked to them since. Both my parents, your grandparents, have passed on, and last I heard my brother was leading a Faunus rights movement called the White Fang."

Yep, that was Ghira alright. Blake Belladonna's cousin status confirmed I forged on with my questioning.

"You never tried to contact them?"

"I did twice, once when I graduated and once when I got married. The first time I found out my parents had just passed and my brother refused to speak to me. The second I couldn't get a hold of him because apparently, the leader of the White Fang is too busy to take my call." His facial expression remained annoyed but I could see under that there was some genuine sadness. Pulling out a photo from his desk draw he passed it to me.

"Here, the last picture taken with my family, just two months before I left."

Eager to see my grandparents I scooped up the photo and began to study it. A very formal looking older couple stood behind a pair of young men that could have only been my father and his brother.

"My mother was a bear faunus and my father belonged to the feline family, what part we could not tell" My father commented while I sat engrossed in the old picture. "They were good parents, a bit cold and distant, but they cared for us in their own way and raised us as well as they could. Both held high positions in the council of Menagerie so their jobs kept them away from home often. They died in a ship accident not long before I graduated the academy."

"And your brother?" I prompted.

"Stern, from a young age it was obvious he was going to be a leader. I was always more of a fighter myself, never could get used to those long boring meetings and pointless bureaucracy." He answered, a faint smile on his face. I moved to give the photo back but he waved it away. "Keep it, I have plenty more."

Tucking it away safely I went to leave only for my father's voice to stop me.

"Midas" he said, his expression turning soft "I know we haven't always agreed on everything and I haven't always supported you but I just want you to know, I'm glad you are my son. I'm proud of you."

"And I'm glad you're my dad" I replied softly. Never one for displays of emotion I quickly moved to leave, but as I closed the door behind me I caught a glimpse of my father smiling after me.

* * *

An explosion tore me from my sleep. Jumping out of bed I moved to the window to have a look at what caused the noise only to leap back in surprise as my door flew open.

"Dad?" I questioned, seeing his figure in the door. Instinctively I caught a bundle thrown at me only to realize with a glance it was my sword and belt.

"Get ready for combat, bandits have come." Wasting no more time he moved out of my line of sight, probably to get my mother. Swearing explosively, I pulled on my gear. This was bad, I thought as I buckled my sword to my back, this was very very bad. If bandits caused the explosion that meant they had somehow gotten past our sentries and were already at the town itself. The explosions were probably a sign of their attempts to breach the wall which surrounded the town and judging by the strength of the blast I heard it would not be long until they were through.

Running out of my room I ignored the stairs completely, jumping straight over the rail to land next to my parents near the front door. My mother looked terrified but determined while my father sported an expression which could only be described as furious.

"I'm taking your mother to the Vault, I want you to head to the northern wall and find Pine, he should be directing the defences. I'll meet you there once we have everyone in the Vault. Be careful son." My mother opened her mouth to say something but the words were lost as another explosion ripped through the air, originating from the northern side of the town. Swearing, my father gripped my mother and dragged her out the door, heading towards the centre of the town to get her to the Vault.

The Vault was the name of the basement underneath town hall. It housed the towns power generators and all the dust needed to power them, as such it was the strongest, most easily defendable area in the entire town, encased in thick concrete walls with a single door and a solitary staircase leading down to it. In the event of an emergency, such as this one, all non-combat members of the community were evacuated to the vault and a contingency of guards was left to guard the entryway. While it may have seemed foolish to put the innocent townspeople and the bandits most likely target, the dust, in one room the plan was originally devised for Grimm attacks and not bandit incursions. None the less if bandits did manage to make it to the Vault the guards were ordered to surrender and comply with the bandits wishes because if they had made it that far it meant everyone defending the town had already been killed or captured. It wasn't the best plan but it was the best we could do given the resources and manpower the town could muster.

Focusing my Aura I ran as fast as I could to the northern wall, blurring past streams of people hurrying to the Vault. A lesson from my father about bandit attacks sprang to mind. The first few minutes were vital, he had said. If you can repel their initial attack and cause a few injuries they may decide that the cost of attacking further isn't worth it and retreat. If they manage to gain entry though, it becomes much less likely they would withdraw and even then, the damage they could do to the town could be devastating. As another blast ripped through the air I pushed myself further, zeroing on the location of the noise. Dread filled me as I burst from the final line of houses to see I was too late. The last explosive had managed to demolish a section of wall through which dark figures were streaming in, clashing with the guards who were trying to repel them.

The dread was quickly replaced by fury as I saw men and women that I had grown up with, known the entirety of this life, cut down in front of me. Drawing my weapon with a cry I leapt into the fray, hacking at the first enemy figure I saw. His face was hidden beneath dark cloth but I could sense his shock as, to my grim satisfaction, my Aura enhanced strike smashed through his defence and landed heavily on his shoulder. As he stumbled backwards I could see his Aura flare up to protect him, sparing him from injuries. Pressing my advantage I lunged forward, driving the point of my blade into the centre of his body. I don't know if he had already been low on Aura, had poor control, or didn't have very much to begin with, but this time there was no shield to stop my weapon. With my full strength behind it my greatsword slid through his chest like a knife through butter. Some detached part of my mind noted that I had forced the blade all the way through, skewering him completely, but the majority of my mind was caught up in the enormity of what I had just done. I'd killed a person. I'd never killed anyone in this life or my previous one and I was having trouble deciphering the emotions which coursed through me. There was pride; I had removed a threat from my home, I had beat him and made everyone I was meant to protect safer. There was disgust; I had just stolen this man's life from him, something which morally I had no right to do. There were multiple other emotions; guilt, horror, sadness, all coursing through me simultaneously, but the one that was strongest also was the one which sickened me the most; satisfaction. It had been so easy, some part of my mind said, he's dead and you're not even out of breath. The taste of bile filled my mouth.

Clamping down on my emotions I shook my head. There were better times and places to process this then the middle of a bandit attack. Yanking my sword from the fallen body, ignoring the blood staining the blade, I turned to find the next enemy only to be roughly pulled backwards by a hand on my shoulder. Spinning to attack whoever had grabbed me my retaliating blow was pulled short as I saw it was Pine, my father's second in command. Allowing him to pull me away from the breach we moved quickly back to the houses nearest the wall.

"Go find your father" he ordered before I could get a word in. "I just received word from the eastern wall a small group of bandits climbed over and are currently in town somewhere. I need you to get word of this to your dad. I think they're after the supply plane." Swinging my greatsword back into place I wasted no time responding as I turned and sprinted off towards the town centre. I'd completely forgotten about the supply plane which was currently parked on the landing pad behind the town hall. Once a month the Schnee Dust Company sent out the dust necessary to power the generators over the coming weeks. This alone would make it a valuable target but to make matters worse I knew, and I bet the bandits did as well, that to minimize cost the same plane which delivered our Dust also went on to supply the next four towns along, cutting the cost of delivery to each town. That plane was loaded to the brim with one of the most valuable substances in this world and there was no doubt in my mind that the plane was the target of this raid. I just prayed that the pilots didn't try to take off because I doubted that the bandits were just willing to let their pay day go.

I had nearly made it when the worse sound possible met my ears; the high pitch whining of anti-grav engines and the long, sustained gunfire of a Schnee Dust Company supply plane minigun. Using an abandoned cart as a launch point I jumped on top of one of the houses to see what was happening. Sure enough the white plane bearing the Schnee logo was rising from behind the hall, minigun raining fire on an unseen target below. And sure enough the outside of the plane was crawling with the same darkly clad figures as the ones who had breached the wall. I could only watch helplessly as the figures worked their way into the plane and the interior light up with the distinctive flashes of gunfire. Horror filled me as the plane, which had managed to climb a few hundred feet into the air, tilted violently and began to descend back to the ground. The horror grew as the plane, and its volatile cargo, slammed into the hall, the hall which contained my mother, father, and every innocent person in the entire town, and detonated. An anguished cry tore out of my mouth even as instinctively I created the strongest Aura possible to face down the incoming blast wave. A single thought rolled through my mind as I was thrown from the roof by what felt like a giant's punch. Mom, dad, please be alive.

* * *

The world was on fire. The air tasted of ash and every breath burned my lungs. A loud ringing noise was all that could be heard as I forced my body out of the small crater it had formed. My legs felt unsteady as I clambered to my feet, ignoring the constant small drain of my Aura as it worked to repair whatever damage the explosion had done to me. On some level I knew I had a concussion as my thoughts came slowly and disjointed but I didn't care. Forcing my legs to cooperate I began to move towards the centre of the town. The walls of the Vault were thick, reinforced concrete, I told myself, they could have held. Repeating that thought in my mind like a mantra I marched onward, forcing my way through the debris and flames which was once my home. With a final push, I stumbled into what used to be the town square and surveyed the building in front of me. There was nothing left. What was once the largest building in town was now a raging inferno. Sinking to my knees I knew that there was no way anyone inside was alive. Vaguely aware that someone had grabbed me and was now dragging me away from the burning building I couldn't summon the energy to fight them. No, all I could do was cry.

* * *

 **So that's chapter two, hope you enjoyed. As always feel free to leave a review with any advice or criticisms, or feel free to PM me.**


	3. Chapter 3

**In response to Emiliano733 there is no need to fear, I will not be sticking Midas onto an existing team as a fifth member, while I have nothing against stories who do it just seems a touch forced to me. I will not be making a team of OC's either, trying to write one compelling character is hard enough without trying to write four of them.** **What am I doing for his team? Well you're just going to have to keep on reading and find out. Anyway without further ado here is chapter 3 of A World Full of Grimm, enjoy.**

* * *

I shouldn't have gone along with it. It seemed like a solid plan at the time, pretend to leave the area and lie in wait to see if the bandits took the bait. It even worked, without a Huntsman in the village they had attacked within days. Of course, the Schnee plane went and fucked it all up.

"What a disaster" I didn't bother turning to look as Leo's old second in command, Pine I think his name was, walked up beside me. "We just finished clearing the last of the buildings, no new survivors" I didn't need to see him to know how he looked, the tightness in his voice gave everything away.

"What's the final count?"

"Out of the four hundred and eight residents and sixteen travellers who were here yesterday eighty-seven remain. Would have been less if you hadn't come when you did and for that the entire town, what's left of it, owes you a huge debt Rusty."

"Just doing my job" I hated being complimented. People thanking me while we stood in the ruins of their homes always made the words ring false in my ears, no matter how much they meant them. Finally turning to look at the older man next to me I noted how gaunt he looked, face taunt beneath the soot. This had to be the part I hated the most, talking to the victims. "Lose anyone?"

"No" he shook his head "Old bachelor for life I'm afraid. I've seen too many people die to try and start a family."

I grunted in agreement, it was a sentiment many Huntsman shared. After seeing the horrors of the world it seemed cruel to bring a child into it.

"Mayors dead, Leo's dead, makes you the leader now doesn't it."

"Seems that way. Speaking of Leo how's Midas doing."

"Still asleep, Aura depletion takes it out of you."

"To be frank I'm surprised he survived at all considering how close he was too the blast. I'd sent him a fair while before the explosion so he must have been practically next to it." There was guilt mixed with concern in his voice. Must have felt bad that his order nearly killed the lad.

"When I dragged him out he felt heavy, more than he should have. I'd guess he unlocked him semblance and it saved him. Don't worry about him, kid's tough, he'll be fine." He didn't respond and I could see him surveying the area out of the corner of my eye.

"What's the plan, rebuild?" I asked. Some towns try to rebuild on the ruins of their old one, after all, land safe from the Grimm was a rare and valuable commodity, not something that can be given up just over respect for the dead. He shook his head.

"Others might but not us. I just got off the scroll with a representative from the Schnee Dust Company. The fact their people had a hand in this has made them nervous and they're sending planes to collect the survivors and take us to Vale to meet some big wig from the company. In the meantime, we've been advised to not talk to anyone outside the company until it's been properly "investigated"."

A sound of disgust left my mouth. Dust companies destroying settlements was not uncommon, made sense considering how volatile their cargo could be. Whether it was a mining accident or cargo breach the plan of containment was always the same. Scoop up the survivors, make a show of how sorry they were, compensate them for their losses, and all the while subtly make threats that their goodwill would be retracted if anyone talked to the press. The cost of resettling a few survivors was nothing compared to the bad publicity that would come if the incidents were leaked to the public. No one had much of a choice either. Mostly the people left after the accidents had lost everything and needed the company's money to survive, something the companies knew and exploited ruthlessly. There were few things more disgusting then dust companies in my opinion.

Pine nodded besides me. "I know but we really don't have a choice, the most valuable thing to survive the fire was that and even it's ruined." He said pointing to the long bundle tied to my back. At the thought of what it contained my already low mood plummeted. Taking a glance at the setting sun I sighed.

"Time for me to take over guarding the pass. The Grimm are going to be active tonight."

"Planes should be here mid-day tomorrow. Are you coming with us?"

Nodding, I turned my gaze to the small shelters which had been erected to house the remaining residents of the town.

"I will be, I have a promise to keep."

Not giving him time to ask what I moved off. In the distance a Beowolf howled. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Vale seemed... dull. I thought when I finally arrived at Vale it would be a triumphant moment, seventeen long years of hard work culminating in my successful entry to Beacon academy. Now all the grey stone and white walls did was make me long for the greenery of my destroyed home. The fact we were in a Schnee facility probably didn't help, for a company which sold coloured crystals they seemed oddly against anything not white.

I couldn't bring myself to listen to the man in the, you guessed it, white suit drone on about how sorry the SDC was about what had happened and how we could all rest easy now that they were going to take care of everything. Even barely paying attention I could tell how rehearsed and false his words were, to give them my undivided attention would have been an insult to everyone we lost, including my parents.

Losing them had been hard, but not as hard as it could have been seeing as, as morbid as it was, I had practise mourning dead parental figures. My previous life wasn't exactly a happy one, the fact that I had died so early was a testament to that, and since coming to this world I'd made a conscious effort not to dwell on it, however, I will admit that it did give me a certain emotional resilience that came in handy on occasions like this. I couldn't claim to be unaffected, the tight throbbing in my chest every time I realised I would never see them again could attest to this, but knowing what I was feeling was normal and that things would get better eventually made bearing it a bit easier.

Pulling my attention away from my thoughts I turned to face the man in white as he finished his speech and made his way through the crowd, stopping and offering what was no doubt heartfelt personal condolences to each and every survivor. The sincerity of his actions was slightly dampened as between each person his assistant would consult her pad before sliding up and whispering in his ear, probably supplying the personal information of the next person in line. I couldn't help but shake my head in disgust, they really had this down to a science didn't they. As he neared me I tried to school my features into a neutral expression, after all no matter how much they were helping us out of self-interest they were still helping us and it wouldn't do to bite the hand that fed you.

Of course, this sentiment went out the window a moment later when he walked in front of me, crouched down (I was only a few inches shorter), put on what he no doubt thought was a reassuring smile and said "Hey there buddy."

Let me run you through a few items from my list of top ten things I dislike. In no particular order it goes:

Bandits (Newly added).

People who treat me like a child.

 _Anddddd_

People who call me buddy.

It was irrational, I knew they were just trying to be friendly, but I found the word buddy to be incredibly condescending. You didn't call your friends buddy, you called people you were talking down to buddy.

A part of me was impressed he managed to hit two of the list within the first second of meeting me but the majority was filled with irritation as any chance I had of getting along with this person shrivelled up and died. Oblivious, the man charged on.

"I just want you to know you're being very brave and I'm sure your parents would be proud of you." Come on man I was thirteen not three. Letting a little of my irritation bubble to the surface I replied.

"I guess we'll never know, seeing as they are dead and all." My mood improved dramatically watching his face go from phony comforting smile to genuine discomfort in an instant. Seemingly lost for words for a moment his assistant came to the save, leaning forward to whisper in his ear. Once she was done his fake smile oozed back onto his face and he leaned towards me once more.

"Your leader told us you fought with them to protect your people" he said, motioning to where Pine was standing. "That was very brave, you must be strong for your age."

"Obviously not strong enough seeing as my home was destroyed. If I'd managed to kill a few more of them then maybe this wouldn't have happened." I will admit watching his smile go brittle and his assistant actually recoil was morbidly funny. It was wrong, I knew, but everyone had their ways of coping and apparently, mine was fucking with people attempting to comfort me.

Trying to drag the conversation back into more comfortable ground the man tried again.

"You know we at the SDC have a lot of ties to various combat schools throughout Remnant, perhaps we could see about getting you accepted into one of those, what do you say?"

That was... actually very tempting. I hadn't really put any thought into what I was going to do between now and Beacon, and between the move to Vale and all the activity I hadn't had a chance to discuss it with any of the other towns people or Rusty. I could probably get into any combat school easily enough on my own but having SDC backing would go a long way in making the process quicker and smoother. Opening my mouth to reply I was cut off by a familiar rumbling voice behind me.

"Before he answers do you mind if I borrow him for a minute?"

Standing straight the SDC man smiled. "Of course not Huntsman Lock." Turning back to me he said "When you've finished come find me and we can talk about your future, ok buddy?" Turning away before I could reply he missed me flipping him off but from the scandalized look on his assistant's face I'd say she didn't.

Ducking under a smack to the head from Rusty I spun around to face him, noting the signs of amusements I had come to recognise in the time I had known him.

"What's up?" I hadn't seen much of him since I woke up, me being busy casing the town for anything of value to take with us when we left and him guarding the pass to keep out the Grimm drawn by the tragedy.

"It never really came up but your dad made me your godfather before you were born, I'm kind of responsible for you now."

"Wow Rust, no need to sound so thrilled." I deadpanned.

"Shut it. You've got a choice now. Either take the SDC's guy offer, get a scholarship, got to combat school or you can come live with me in Vacuo." I tried to get a read of his face. If I were him I would be wanting me to go to combat school, after all he lived the life of a Huntsman and couldn't afford to be tied down by having to look after a kid. Voicing this I asked.

"Aren't I going to interfere with your work?" Shifting on the spot he replied.

"I was thinking of taking you on as an apprentice."

"Apprentice?" I hadn't heard of this before.

"You'd be allowed to receive personal training from me as well as come along on some of my easier missions. I can't train you unless it's made official, the council like to keep track of everyone receiving Huntsman training." I'd made up my mind before he even finished speaking. Personal training from an experienced Huntsman and the opportunity to go on actual missions trumped anything a combat school could ever offer me by an enormous margin.

"Well then look like you're stuck with me Rust. So, what do I call you now, uncle Rusty? Godfather? Goddad? Big G?"

"I wouldn't get too mouthy brat, you belong to me now. Get your stuff and say your goodbyes, we're heading out later today."

"You got it Big G, I'm going to go tell that SDC guy to shove it and I'll be back in a few." Laughing as I walked away I couldn't help but laugh harder when my Faunus hearing caught him muttering "I'm going to regret this."

* * *

A dull thud rang out as my head impacted another low hanging sign. Inheriting even a fraction of my father's immense height had both its perks and its drawbacks but as I navigated my way through a street clearly made for people at least a foot shorter than me I couldn't for the life of me remember what any of those perks were.

"I fucking hate this place" I growled to my companion as he hurried along beside me, passing under the signs with ease. I truly did. It wasn't just the low signs which earned my ire, a lot of things about the slums of Vacuo pissed me off. From the narrow, filthy streets, to the loud, pushy merchants who were still trying to peddle their wares even as the sun sank below the horizon, the slums were not a pleasant place to be. This would make most wonder why they were here but unfortunately, I had a physical reminder in the form of an old man puffing alongside me, struggling to keep up with my long steps. It was because my stupid, big, soft heart, couldn't turn away a person in need even if they couldn't FUCKING PAY ME. Yes, I was in a bad mood, and I knew it, but sue me, I was working pro bono for a job which could have made me thousands. I deserved to grumble a bit.

"Mr King, Mr King, that is the place." My companions voice pulled me from my thoughts.

"Again, Mr Dan, you don't have to call me Mr King. I'm sixteen, call me Midas." I already knew what his reply would be, he had been doing this since I agreed to take the job for him.

"I can't do that Mr King, I owe you far too much!"

People from Vacuo were weird. While they seemed like a wild bunch on the surface they all shared a deep sense of community, loyalty, and respect for those who helped them. If I had to guess I would say this came from the days when they wandered the desert in nomadic tribes, where they had to work together to survive the harsh environment and the kindness of a stranger could mean the difference between life and death. Regardless, while most of the time I found this admirable at this moment it was beginning to irritate me so I decided to move things along.

"Are those your friends down there?" I asked, motioning to a group of men and women huddled together further down the street.

"Yes that is them Mr King!" The dark-skinned man answered eagerly.

"Alright, you all stay out here until I've finished clearing out the building. Once I'm done I'll call you in. Don't come before that." I ordered.

"Yes Mr King I understand." Sparing him one last glance to make sure he wouldn't follow I strode towards the door of the building that he had indicated.

As I neared the man who had been leaning next to it rose and walked a couple of paces towards me.

"Fuck off kid before you get hurt." He snarled in what he no doubt though what an intimidating manner. Having decided my patience had officially run out I shot forward and slammed my fist into his face. Now I'm no sadist but I will admit there is something immensely satisfying about breaking a bad guys nose. It's even more satisfying to watch them go flying backwards and, in this case, smash through the door they were meant to be protecting. Following the thug I had just used as an impromptu battering ram through the now open doorway I was greeted by the sight of four men sitting on a couch gawking at their unconscious friend. Upon seeing me they began scrabbling for their weapons, clearly taken off guard. In the interest of ending this as quickly as possible I picked up their friend from where he lay in the ruins of the door and without warning hurled him at them. Predictably, two of them stopped reaching for their weapons and instead tried to catch my human missile. Capitalising on this I leapt forward, this time letting lose two quick jabs which had them joining the man they were holding in la la land. Ducking under a clumsy swing from one of my two remaining targets I caught him in the jaw with an uppercut, taking him off his feet before delivering a crushing back-kick to the now only remaining conscious member of the four, winding him badly.

Pausing to congratulate myself on clearing the room in under ten seconds I walked over and pulled the last thug to his feet. His scream made it clear my kick had hurt him pretty badly, maybe broken a few ribs, but unfortunately for him I was fresh out of sympathy for kidnapping scum.

"Where is your boss?" I demanded, making sure to keep my voice calm and even. I'd come to find that yelling only freaked them out and made it harder for them to answer.

"I don't know who you're tal- ahhh!" His reply changed into a scream as hammered a quick blow into where I had kicked him.

"Wrong answer, let's try again. Where is your boss?"

"Please, he'll hurt m- ahhhhh!" Again, I struck his chest, harder this time. Was what I doing wrong? Yes. Was it necessary? Also yes. Making sure to stare right into his eyes I asked once more.

"Where. Is. Your. Boss?" Through the tears I could see the fear in his eyes. As much as it disgusted me it was actually the desired effect, the only way he was ever going to rat his boss out is if he feared me more than him.

Pulling back my arm to deliver another strike my instincts suddenly screamed at me to get down. Having learned to trust them after long years of training and missions I ducked just in time for something to whistle over my head. Ditching the guy I was interrogating I rolled to the side, grabbing one of the thugs discarded weapons as I went. Coming out of the roll I straightened and caught the incoming cleaver like blade on the club I had just acquired.

"Ah" I said in satisfaction, seeing the wielder of the blade to be my target. "There you are."

He backed off wearily, clearly less confident now he couldn't take me by surprise.

"Who are you" he asked, voice rough. Ignoring his question, I stared him in the eye.

"Where are the children?" I asked in return.

"What childr-" I shot forward, swinging my borrowed weapon at him with blinding speed. Clearly he had training as he was able to put his blade between himself and the club, but clearly it wasn't very good training as a moment later the club ploughed through his blade, shattering the cheap metal and impacted him in the side. Dropping the now unnecessary weapon I stalked over to where he lay gasping for breath.

"The children you kidnapped when their parents refused to pay you protection money. Remember, those children." I pulled him to his feet. I knew he was only winded as I had caught the distinctive flare of exhausted Aura as he impacted the wall. At a guess I would say this guy had attended a combat school and flunked out before turning to a life of crime using the few skills he had picked up. Pushing the issue from my mind I lazily leant back to avoid his last-ditch attack before responding with a kick to the knee, shattering the joint. Putting my hand over his mouth to muffle the screams I waited until he returned to silence.

"I'm going to let go now and here is what is going to happen. You're going to tell me where the children are or I'm going to break your other knee. If you refuse than after that I'll break your arms. If you still refuse than I'll just have to continue until I've broken every bone in your body, then I'll break them twice. Understand?"

He remained silent, staring up at me with huge, terrified eyes. Shaking him roughly I demanded "Nod if you understand."

A frantic head nod followed.

"Very good"

My hand had barely cleared his mouth when words started pouring out.

"They're in a room under the hatch in the room behind me please don't hurt me anymore plea-" Slamming a fist into the side of his head I knocked him out and tossed him aside. Walking into the room I quickly located the hatch and, seeing it was locked, tore it from the floor. Turning on the light of my scroll I peered down into the hole to see seven tiny faces staring up at me. That was them all right. I called down.

"I'm going to get your parents I'll be right back."

Hurrying outside I called to where I had left Mr Dan and the rest waiting, motioning for them to follow me in. Leading them to the correct room I left them alone to help the children out while I went and stood guard over the unconscious bodies of the kidnappers. I hated dealing with children, hated it when I was one, hated it now.

After many tears and cries of Papa! and Mama! which I'm sure would have warmed the heart of anyone not me, the parents left with many promising favours I never intended to cash in, leaving me with the guy I only knew as Mr Dan and a tiny girl that must have been his daughter.

"You have done us a great service Mr King" he said softly, patting the head of his daughter. "I wish there was some way to repay you."

Contrary to what I felt I answered.

"Your thanks is payment enough. Now go, I've got to get these guys to the police."

"Thank you, thank you, you are a true hero." With that he hurried out the door, daughter in his arms.

I watched him go, waited for the night to swallow him before snorting softly. Gathering the unconscious criminals I dragged them into the back room and closed the door behind me. The five thugs I would let go. They were just poor people in a bad situation, most likely they would take this as a warning not to take up a life of crime and go back to doing whatever it was they did before they'd been recruited into this little scheme. The head honcho however...

Picking up the shattered remains of his blade I walked over to where I had thrown him on the floor. When the others awoke they would probably stuff him down the hole and run for it, not wanting to get the police involved. In the end, it didn't really matter as long as it never came back to me, which I knew it wouldn't. As I raised the blade over his bare throat I couldn't help but snort one more time.

"Yeah, I'm a real fucking hero."

* * *

Being accepted into Beacon academy was a lot easier than I expected it to be. A completed application form, a few good words from my trainer/master/godfather and a two-week waiting period was all that was required for me to receive my acceptance letter and instructions on when and where to go. I used to think that there was no way Jaune had managed to fake his way in on his own, that Ozpin must have seen some potential or some rubbish in him and accepted him anyway. Now I thought they just had a really terrible screening process and a particularly crafty dog (Zwei I'm thinking of you here) could trick his way in. I shouldn't be too surprised though, with the mortality rate of the job they couldn't exactly afford to be picky about who they let in, not when more Huntsman and Huntresses were always needed. And I suppose that was what initiation was for, to weed out the weak and unskilled.

I'd decided to come to Vale a few days early for a few reasons. The first was that it probably would have been sad to say goodbye to Rusty so I decided to skip it all together by running out a few days earlier than planned taking only my clothes, weapons, money, and a sizeable chunk of his alcohol cabinet. He'd probably already followed me here, if not to kick my arse for leaving without saying goodbye than to get his booze back.

The second reason I'd come ahead of schedule was currently strolling down the street in front of me. I wasn't entirely sure how you manage to make walking look arrogant but somehow Roman Torchwick nailed it. Surprisingly looking almost spot on from the show (I'd thought the mascara had to be fake), Roman and his band of Rent-A-Goons were approaching a shop rather cleverly named From Dust Till Dawn, which, if my memory hadn't failed me from all those knocks to the head I'd received from Rusty's 'training', contained a little girl wearing a red hood. Pausing as I watched Roman walk into the store I couldn't keep a small excited smile from coming to the surface. Seventeen years of fighting, training, surviving, all would start coming together in this moment.

Drawing my weapon from where I kept it on my back I gave the mechanism's one last inspection before shifting it into its extended form. As a suit clad goon came flying out the window followed by a red blur I couldn't help but let the excited smile slide into something a bit more vicious. This was going to be fun.

* * *

"- and as much as I'd love to stick around -" The world blurred as I shot towards him. Having spent my life training under two immense men for whom speed had always been a problem I'd come to have a healthy aversion to purely power and strength based fighting styles. My height and choice of weapon would have most people assume I was some kind of tank, capable of massive damage but slower than dirt, however while I came in just over 6.6ft with some growing left in me I'd spent countless hours training making sure I would never be lacking in terms of speed. Muscular but not bulky, I had the strength necessary to wield the immense blade I'd built while long, powerful legs and finely honed speed and flexibility gained from my faunus heritage meant that I could move with the best of them. Topped off with foregoing any armour besides bronze coloured bracers on my forearms all in all, when it came down to it, I was fast. Something Roman Torchwick was learning right now.

Closing the distance between us in an instant I bought my sword down in a crushing overhead blow, hoping to score an early hit and put him on the defence. Unfortunately, it seemed like he was expecting another person to enter the fray as without a moment's hesitation he threw himself to the side, leaving me to turn the spot he'd been standing into dust and shards of concrete. Catching a glimmer of red moving through the dust in front of me I lashed out, battering the red Dust crystal to the side just in time to catch the shot which had been following on the flat of my blade. The world lit up as whatever he fired exploded on my guard, however without the added power of the crystal all it could do was push me back slightly. When you'd been trained by a man who could split an Ursa Major with a single strike you learned to take a hit.

Hearing a shrill battle cry, which could only be Ruby's, followed by a loud bang I dug my feet into the ruins of the sidewalk and shot forward again, exiting the cloud of dust and smoke only to stop and twist my body in a dodge which would have broken a less flexible man's spine as an enormous red and black scythe flew through the space my head had previously occupied. Making a split-second decision I reached out and grabbed the girl attached to said scythe, halting her impromptu flight. Dropping her back on her feet I didn't even get a chance to open my mouth before she shot away with a cry.

"He's getting away"

He was. Already he'd scaled the fire escape of the building and I knew we only had seconds before he boarded the Bullhead waiting for him there. Getting ready to give chase a splash of colour lying against the grey concrete caught my eye. Ah, I thought, perfect.

* * *

Have you ever done something you thought was awesome and immediately realised it was a terrible idea. Because as I clung to the outside of a Bullhead cockpit as it spiraled towards the empty street below I couldn't help but think that my so called perfect plan was not quite all I had imagined it to be.

Following Roman and Ruby up to the roof I had been met by the exact sight I'd been expecting. Ruby and Ms Goodwitch duelling a shadowy figure in red as Roman piloted the plane. I knew if I didn't intervene than within seconds he would get the unstable craft under control and make his escape. Not on my watch. I'd already holstered my sword on the climb, leaving my hands free as I extended my claws and sprinted towards the Bullhead. Passing Ruby and Goodwitch I ignoring their surprised and annoyed cries respectively and, not pausing to consider the insanity of what I was about to do, jumped off the edge of the roof. Metal screeched as the claws on my right hand dug into the frame of the cockpit glass, anchoring me in place. Inside, Roman looked both confused and smug, no doubt knowing that the glass separating us was strong enough to block bullets and that there was no way my claws could ever shear through it.

My claws sheared through it.

Heh, my semblance was pretty bad ass.

Carving away chucks of glass with every strike of my left hand I eventually managed to make a hole big enough for my purpose. Still holding on I pulled out the object I had scooped off the ground earlier; the red Dust crystal he had stolen from the store.

"Hey Roman" I called, speaking for the first time during the fight. "I think you dropped this".

In that moment, I knew that the expression of pure panic on his face as he scrambled to exit the cockpit would remain one of my fondest memories until the day I died. Dropping the crystal through the hole in the glass I whipped the collapsed form of my weapon off my back and lined it up with the hole, revealing, in the words of Ruby Rose, "It's also a gun".

A muffled whump followed by the screeching of metal was all that could be heard as the crystal detonated. The glass felt hot beneath my hand but thankfully held, something that could not be said for the control panel or any other part of the cockpit. I'd seen Roman exit a moment before the crystal exploded so he was probably fine but the Bullhead was toast.

The Bullhead I was currently on...

That was in the middle of Vale...

I'd screwed up.

Almost as if sensing my thoughts, the right engine cut out and I suddenly became a lot less concerned about the fate of Roman Torchwick and more concerned about the fate of Midas King. I'd live for sure but letting a Bullhead crash on top of me would hurt like a bitch. Oh, and property damage blah blah.

As I spiralled towards the ground I could nearly hear the telling off I would get when the entire craft began to come to a shuddering halt.

"Destroy the engine!" A voice called over the high-pitched whirl of the Bullheads remaining jet engine. Tracing the source of the voice I saw Ruby and Goodwitch standing at the edge of the roof I had just leapt off. As I saw Goodwitch's crop/wand thing pointed at the Bullhead and the strained expression on her face I realised what was happening. She'd caught the plane but the weight of it plus the force of the still operation engine was too much for her to handle. Digging my claws in I launched myself at the remaining engine, extending the sword still grasped in my left hand as I flew threw the air, before swinging it through the engine, cutting it in two.

Landing on the ground I spun and ran back to what was left of the plane just as it reached the ground. Tearing open the door I was greeted by an empty compartment, the occupants having fled during the commotion just as I expected them to do.

Sighing, I closed the door again. While it would have been nice to stop this here and now it had always been unlikely. I'd specifically gone after Roman in the encounter because I knew despite my years of training I was no match for Cinder and wouldn't be for a while yet.

The sound of footsteps pulled me from my thoughts as I turned to face the two women walking up behind me. Ruby looked worried but also excited, probably still riding that adrenaline high. Ms Goodwitch on the other hand, well she was probably what Ruby looked so worried about. Furious would be a good way to describe it. Deciding to high tail it out of there I went to take a few steps back only to have a force grab and lift me from the ground before I could move.

"Hold it right there." Wow she somehow managed to sound even stricter then in the show, that's impressive. "You're coming with me."

"To get a reward?" I guessed weakly.

I sighed as she ignored me and instead turned away to address the police officers who had only just arrived. Truly Vale's finest they were. Turning my head as much as my current bonds would allow I addressed my red hooded partner in crime.

"Hey Red, be a pal and help me get loose, I'll give you anything."

I sighed again as after an uncertain look she opted to emulate Ms Goodwitch and ignore me. As I hung in the middle of the street surrounded by cops and ruined pavement I couldn't help but think back to my thoughts earlier in the evening. So much for a fun night.

* * *

"Ahh what the hell Rusty that hurts."

After my godfather appeared Ruby had been escorted into a different interrogation room, leaving me alone with my clearly displeased mentor who'd spent the last couple of minutes trying to 'discipline' me.

"Good, I'm trying to slap some sense into you and maybe the pain means it's working" He said as he cuffed me on the back of the head again.

"This is cruel and unusual punishment, I'm calling police brutality." Stupid handcuffs meant I couldn't even dodge as his enormous hand impacted the back of my head again. To tell the truth it didn't really hurt, Aura could stop bullets after all, but it was super annoying.

"I'm not the police dumbass."

"But it's happening inside a police station so I'm pretty sure it counts"

"If I'm not a police officer than it can't be police brutality. This is just normal brutality."

A calm voice cut through our arguing.

"You're correct, Mr Lock, but it is still illegal so perhaps you could stop it while I am in the room."

So far, the show had been a great guide to this world. While it glossed over some of the darker, more gory details, the models and information it had provided were pretty much bang on. And while they had nailed the way Professor Ozpin looked and sounded they'd failed to convey his aura. Not his Aura, but the presence of the man, an overwhelming feeling of calmness and wisdom.

Of course, the effect was lessened on me because I knew just how badly he would screw up in the future but it was still impressive.

Taking a seat across from me I noticed he brought cookies for me too. Not seeing anyone moving to undo my cuffs I shrugged and with a quick application of my semblance I shattered them, freeing my arms. They'd only put normal metal handcuffs on me, not the special reinforced kind that was required for some Huntsman. Rubbing my wrist to help get the blood flowing I noted that Ozpin didn't look surprised by my sudden freedom.

"That's quite a semblance you have there, anyone not paying too much attention would mistake it for increased strength but it's not, is it."

I shrugged. No smart person explained exactly how their semblance worked, especially not in such a public setting. Sipping at his coffee he pushed the plate across. "Would you like a cookie?"

"Yes, thank you" I was pretty hungry, taking down planes could make you work up quite the appetite.

"So, Mr King, I understand you are to become a student of my school starting tomorrow." Munching on a cookie I nodded.

"Well you've certainly made quite the impression on one of your teachers, it's been a long time since I've seen Glynda that worked up before the school year has even begun. She even asked me to reconsider your application after the trouble you wrought."

That bitch. I know I'd made a bit of a mess but come on, no one even died. Seeing he was waiting for my reply I swallowed my mouthful of food.

"And are you, sir?"

I could feel Rusty's incredulous expression tunnelling through the back of my head. Respect wasn't really my thing but there was a lot on the line here.

"I am not, Mr King. While your execution could use work you ultimately tried to do the right thing, which counts for a lot in my book. However, if you don't mind, I have a question I would like you to answer."

Knowing I was off the hook helped me to relax a little and I leaned back in my chair.

"Shoot."

"Very well, it's been a long night so I'll be brief. Why do you wish to become a Huntsman."?

I asked without hesitation.

"To stop bad guys."

"Not to save people?" He asked.

"Stopping bad guys will save people." I shot back.

"There is an important distinction between the two and I feel like you know it."

I did, but it didn't change my answer.

Silence filled the room as Ozpin's eyes stared into mine. If I didn't already have a rough idea of what his semblance was I would have been worried he was reading my mind, but as it was I stared back unafraid.

A sigh broke the silence, followed by the scraping of a chair as Ozpin rose from his seat.

"It was a pleasure meeting you Mr King, I look forward to seeing you at Beacon tomorrow."

"The pleasure was all mine professor, I look forward to being there."

Nodding his head to Rusty he proceeded out the door, leaving me to think about what just happened.

"You idiot"

"Ahh bloody hell cut it out Rusty!"

* * *

 **Now I thought I had better clear some stuff up. While this chapter may have made him seem like a bit of a blood thirsty savage I'm not trying to make him like that, I'm just trying to convey that my iteration of the RWBY universe is a bit more brutal than other usually portray. In a universe where some people have super strength and a shield which protects them from harm it is not hard to imagine some would use that power for crime and stuff. Look at the DC and Marvel universes, 50% of the people who develop superpowers instantly become villains. And in such a universe were crime and negativity can draw the presence of blood thirsty monsters it would make sense to do away with such people permanently. Anyway let me know what you think and whether you agree or disagree in the comments. Seeya next time.**


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